HAMPDEN - Residents at a forum on the proposed new Minnechaug Regional High School said that if a new $82.3 million high school is approved, the School Committee needs to set aside money to maintain it.

School Superintendent M. Martin O’Shea said at the Wednesday night forum at Thornton Burgess Middle School that the current high school, which was built in 1959, has heating, electrical and plumbing systems that have exhausted their useful lives.

Residents pointed out that older people in town are living on fixed incomes and will not get Social Security increases this year due to the “financial turmoil” in the country. They said that many residents live in homes that are older than the current high school because they keep up with the maintenance.

School officials were asked if they gave any thought to building the new pool that is part of the proposal at a later date since the state will not provide reimbursement for it.

School Committee member Scott R. Chapman said the school district has had a swimming program for 50 years that has benefited thousands of children.

“We wanted to keep the same program,” Chapman said.

The proposed 248,959-square-foot high school will come before voters for approval at Town Meetings in Hampden and Wilbraham on Monday night.

On Oct. 20 voters in the two towns will be asked to approve debt exclusion override elections to fund the school, which will be 62 percent reimbursable by the state, excluding the cost of the pool.

Former School Superintendent Paul C. Gagliarducci said the new school, if it is approved, will have better security than the existing high school and will be more energy efficient. It will be built on the grounds of the existing high school, and the existing high school will be demolished.

“The proposed new high school is practical, compact and it fits our needs,” Gagliarducci said. He said it will be built on the model of a school in Ashland that will help eliminate change orders and cost overruns.

O’Shea said that if the proposed new school is not approved, the school district will have to get behind many other school projects in the state in seeking state reimbursement.

According to projections provided by the school district, residents in Hampden would pay an estimated $321 per year in additional taxes on a $300,000 house for 30 years for the new high school and residents in Wilbraham would pay an estimated $300 per year for 30 years on a $300,000 house.